The Great Horned Owl

As is said in the eloquent introduction to this book, the author’s hours and hours spent observing and rehabilitating these animals, combined with the presentation of his artwork, gives the reader an “in-depth” feel for what these birds are like. You can catch his excitement and sense of wonder. I too am amazed at how the owls camouflage with their surroundings, for example. I couldn’t really grasp the huge size of these birds until I saw the picture of a house finch next to a Great Horned Owl, who didn’t look like it cared at all that the other, smaller bird was there. As it turns out, they will eat pretty much anything their size or smaller. “The Great Horned Owl” by Scott Rashid is a great natural history of a fascinating and beautiful bird species.

Another thing I learned is why their faces are shaped the way they are, and the various functions of ear tufts – the “horns” they are named for. While the writing is sometimes easier to scan over the names of different species as they are listed, the text is grounded in science and well annotated. Rashid’s anecdotes are even more interesting, and his illustrations are excellent, as I see them, teaching aids.  One drawback is that a couple of photos didn’t enlarge so well – the quality is sort of grainy; however, the other photos more than make up for this, as these are rare views of owls in their natural habitat. The map of their distribution covers almost all of North America, yet it is not every day one gets to see this bird or any of its differently colored subspecies the way the authors knows how to find them. This book can serve as a reference as well as an art collection to revisit many times. This is just the kind of book that I would love at any age, and I hope may spark an interest in owls, animals and nature in younger generations.

Note: in exchange for an honest review, a copy of this title was generously provided by Schiffer Publishing